Blue Eyes
by Short Moose
Summary: I have his blue eyes, and mom doesn't like it. --I'm sorry, I suck at summaries. Will eventually be Huddy. ShortMoose
1. Chapter 1

"Common...come-" He sighed as he died again. Damn Bowser. He started the level over.

Just as he reached the end, fighting Bowser in the fourth castle, Cuddy walked in. "House," He didn't even glance at her. "House!" She said a little louder.

"Shut up, I'm almost-" He watched as Bowser shot a fire ball at Mario, and he died. "-done." House finally looked at her. "You made me die."

She sighed as she walked up to his desk. "I need to ask you a favor."

"Why?" He squinted his eyes in mockery.

"Because I just do." Cuddy's voice filled him with suspicion.

"Okay, shoot."

"Come to my house at about eight tonight." She regretted putting it like that.

"You know," he started to play his Game Boy again. "I only make house calls to those who pay me first."

She took a deep breath. "Just come over." Then she turned on her heel and left him.

He paused his game and thought. Cuddy had never invited him to her place before. Something was up, and he was gonna find out.

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Later that night he stood in front of her place, knocking on the door. When she didn't answer for a few minutes, he looked at his watch. Eight fifteen. He knocked harder. Then Cuddy opened the door. He looked her over: she seemed stressed and a tiny bit breathless.

"Are you okay?" he asked as she stepped aside so he could come in.

"I'm fine." She was looking around nervously.

He was eying her suspiciously. "So, what's this favor?"

"You know how I'm going to the Conference in Ohio for a week?" He nodded, his blue eyes never leaving hers. "Well, I need you to-" And she cut herself off when she saw me enter the room. I was heading into the kitchen when I noticed the other person in the room. He looked slightly familiar.

"Reese," She called, and I slowly walked over to her. "This is Dr. House. He's going to be watching you while I'm gone." I gave her a look that said, 'Does he have to?'

Reluctantly, House put out his hand for me to shake. I stared into his eyes, for a few minutes before I shook it. "Hello." he said to me. I nodded in response.

After I let go, mom said to me. "Did you finish your homework?" I nodded. "Did you finish packing?" I shook my head. "Go on and finish packing." I nodded, and went back into my room, completely forgetting my purpose of coming out in the first place.

"Packing?" He asked Cuddy when he heard my door close.

"She's going to have to stay with you while I'm gone." She explained.

"Why?"

"Because I don't trust you in my house alone."

House looked at her with more suspicion. "How old is she?"

"Almost fifteen."

He caught her eyes and held them. "When did she come about?"

"About six months before you moved in with Stacey."

He put it all together rather quickly. "Did you-"

"No."

"But, I used a condom, I know I did." He protested.

"It broke."

He was trying to wrap his mind around the idea of him being a...a....a...he couldn't even say it. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, taking a deep breath.

"After I found out, you had met her and were already in love. I wasn't going to bother you."

Damn Cuddy, he thought, always thinking he'd be better off without her. "Why is it that I never remember you being pregnant?"

She shrugged. "The months I was showing, I wore looser clothing to keep it hidden. I even went out of state to have her so that no one knew."

He thought for a second about what to say next. "Does she know?"

She shook her head. "No. I never told her."

House nodded. "Would you like me to tell her?"

She shook her head again. "No."

"If you didn't want me to tell her, then why ask me to look after her?"

"Because the person who normally does when I'm away won't take her." She seemed so sad.

"Who is it?"

She said, "Wilson."

Now House was a little bit more than a little angry. "Why?"

"Because she looks like you. And for some reason, he has a problem with her looking like you." She tried to let it out with softer words to calm him down before he got angry. She failed.

"That's not fair to her! He shouldn't be taking out what going on between us on her. She didn't do anything!" He started to raise his voice.

"But he did and it's over. Okay? Done with." Now he was trying to look away, but she held him there.

"When are you leaving?" he asked.

"Tomorrow morning after I drop her off at school. You're going to have to pick her up at three. She goes to Princeton Regional."

"What do I do after I pick her up? I have clinic hours tomorrow."

She shrugged her shoulders, "Take her with you. She knows the hospital. Give her a set time and she'll meet you somewhere."

"Who else knows about her?"

"Just you, me and Wilson. Everyone else thinks she's a wanderer. Thinking she came in when her parents did."

He had to keep the questions going, otherwise he was going to over think the whole 'you-have-a-kid-thing'. "Is she going to need help with her homework?"

Cuddy smiled. "I don't think so. She's pretty smart."

"How smart?"

Her smile got wider. "She skipped two grades."

Then he gave a small smile. "So she did get something from my side besides good looks." Cuddy gave a quick chuckle.

Just then, I opened my door and brought out a gym bag that was filled with clothes in it. I looked at my mom, and she knew I was asking, 'What now?'

"Why don't you get ready for bed? You gotta a big day tomorrow." I nodded and left, her ruffling my short hair on my way out.

House watched me leave, and as soon as I closed my door, he asked, "Does she ever talk?"

Cuddy shook her head. "Not usually, no. Actually, almost never. But she was never the talkative type."

After a few awkward seconds, he asked, "Um...can I say goodnight to her?"

Cuddy gave a small smile. "Yeah, of course." She led him to my room, and lightly knocked on the door, "Reese? Can we come in?" Obviously I didn't answer, so Mom opened the door slowly to find me sitting on my bed with a book. House saw the book, and he thought he recognized it.

"Hey, uh, Reese," I looked up at him. "Can I see that book for a minute? I promise I won't lose your page."

I nodded, and handed it to him. He put his thumb about half way in the book, where my page was, and looked at the cover: _The Return of Sherlock Holmes_. He opened the cover to see the note he wrote to Cuddy on that last day of college:

Lisa,

No matter what happens,

Don't forget me.

I won't forget you.

Greg

He closed the cover and handed it back to me, "You have a one-of a-kind edition there. Autographed and everything." I nodded and looked from my mom to him.

"Honey, Dr. House just wanted to say, 'goodnight'. And that he's glad to have you while I'm gone." I looked up at the wall behind me and hit the wall with my finger where a set of tickets were pinned. Mom sighed. "I'm sorry honey, but I can't take you. You know I wanted to go when I bought the tickets, but this conference just sprung up on me. I'm sorry."

I sighed, put my bookmark in my book, and laid it on the nightstand next to my bed. Then, I turned off the lamp one the table, pushed the button on my clock that set the alarm, and turned on my side, away from them.

Mom sighed a little. "Goodnight, sweetie."

"Goodnight, Reese. I'll see you tomorrow." They both left my room, and headed back to the living room.

"I'm sorry about that, it's just we planned, and this meeting-"

"I'll take her." House interrupted.

She shook her head. "You don't like musicals."

He shrugged, "We have to bond somehow."

She seemed surprised. "Okay, I'll get you the tickets, and you can surprise her."

House used his cane to pick up the surprisingly light gym bag, and get a hold of it with his other arm. "I should probably go. It's getting late, and you've got a big day tomorrow." He mimicked her.

"After she's asleep, I'll bring the tickets over."

"I'm looking forward to it."He was full of sarcasm. He turned around, and started for the door.

"House," Cuddy stopped him. "Please be nice to her."

He raised his eyebrows. "I kind have to be." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Once again, he started hobbling to the door.

"House," She called again.

He rolled his eyes as he turned back to her. "What?"

"When I enrolled her, I put you as the second emergency number. And I told them two days ago that I was going out of town, and to call you first."

"Okay, I get called first when she looses an arm. Anything else I should know?" He was getting angry because his leg was starting to hurt again.

"No. Nothing else comes to mind." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Okay, then I will see you later." He finally left, and went back to his car. He threw the bag into the passenger's seat, and sat in the driver's seat, just thinking. He grabbed the vicoden from his coat pocket and popped a few. After he swallowed them, House closed his eyes and relaxed. I have a kid, he thought. I'm...a dad. And for the first time in a long time, he actually smiled a real smile.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Freak!" I rolled my eyes as Milo Holly and 'gang' called from across the picnic ground. The school lets the seniors eat outside until it snows or its raining. Today it was sunny with dark clouds in the distance. I tried to ignore them and continue reading my book, but they sat all around and across from me. Why couldn't they just leave me alone? "Blue Eyes, I hear your mom's away this weekend, you wanna come over?" I looked from my book to him and shook my head. "Then at least give me a kiss." He puckered up and started to lean in, but I put my hand against his mouth and pushed him away from me. He tumbled backward off the table. Seeing their leader fall, his minions started to surround me, and two of them grabbed my arms, while the other two took my back pack and started going through it. When Milo got back up, he told the two who were holding my arms to back away, and they let me go. "You must really take after your Dad. Because I know your mom would go out with a guy in a second, bloody little whore she is." He murmured the last part, and I clenched my fist. "Oh, look at that guys, she thinks she can fight me. But she wont'. She doesn't have the guts." When I didn't do anything, he laughed. "I knew it. You're just as weak as your mother when she visited my dad last night-" He didn't even finish his sentence before I was on top of him, pretty much kicking his ass. I was punching him in the face when our Global teacher came and pulled me off of him.

"What in God's name are you doing?"

He had snuck in a few punches, so I came out with a fat lip and an eye that was going to be black. When I didn't answer he did. "All I was doin' was talking to her, and she just went crazy!"

"Common Reese, let's go down to the Principle's office." I grabbed my backpack from the two guys that were going through it, and my book which had fallen to the ground.

"You too, Milo!" She called to him. He got up reluctantly and followed us to Mrs. Windward's office to be punished.

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"Could it be Lupus?" Dr. Taub suggested to House as they worked on their next patient; a middle aged female who was walking on the sidewalk, then randomly started screaming from muscle pains, and then fainted.

House turned away from the white board and glared at him. "It's never Lupus."

"Well then how about-" But Dr. Kutner was cut off by House's cell phone going off.

"Excuse me, kiddies." He said. "I have to take this." He whispered before he went out to the hallway. "Hello?"

"Mr. House?"

"Dr."

"Excuse me, Dr. House. I'm calling about Reese."

He sighed, "What happened?" After she (the Principle) told him, he sighed again. "I'll be right there." After he hung up, he went back into the room where his worker bees were. "I'm so sorry children, but we have to skip story time today. Uncle House has to go."

"Why?" Thirteen asked in suspicion.

"Because I have to." He looked around the room to find a random object. "Coffee Pot! You're in charge." Then he hobbled out to his car.

Foreman thought for a second after House left. "Does he mean me?"

Taub shook his head. "No. He meant the coffee pot." And Thirteen rolled her eyes.

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When House arrived at the school, it was between periods, so there were children all about the hallway. And since he had never been to the school before, he stopped went to a kid that was exchanging books at his locker, "Hey," the kid looked up at him, obviously intimidated by the vast height difference. "Where's the Principle's office?"

"Down the hall, second door on your right." He started walking away when the kid said to him. "Hey, are you here for Reese?"

House turned around. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I hear she beat down Milo bad! I mean, we've all wanted to; but we've never actually done it."

"Why?" He questioned.

"I heard that he started badmouthing her, and she got upset. But he's always doing that to her, so it probably didn't take much to set her off."

House looked like he had just figured something out. But there really wasn't anything to figure out. "Thank you." He never meant it when he said, 'thank you'. After walking into the office, he had to be buzzed in before he could enter Mrs. Windward's office. When he hobbled in, I took a quick glance at him, then I stared at the floor. After House had closed the door, he stared at the two people sitting next to the other kid, who he assumed was Milo. "Did you bring an attorney?" He asked incredulously.

The woman out of the two stared at him harshly, as if he physically beat the kid up. "As a matter a fact, I did. Do you have a problem with that?"

Before House had time to come back with a snappy remark, the Principle said, "That's enough Cheryl." Then she turned to House. "Are you Dr. House?"

"Why? Are you dying?" He said sarcastically, as he sat down in the chair next to me. I gave a small smile to the floor, but quickly swallowed it. He saw it. "Yes, I am Dr. House. What happened?"

"That monster attacked my boy!" Cheryl shrieked as the attorney touched her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"What makes her a monster?" House yelled back. The Principle started to tell them to sit down and be quiet, but they ignored her.

"Look at her! Look what she did to him!" The mother was continuing to throw at House.

"Look what he did to her!"

"In self defense, no doubt!"

"I just heard in the hallway that he provoked her!" That made his mother put her hands on her hips as if to say, 'Yeah right'. "That he does that to her all the time!"

"And who is your source 'Doctor'?" Did she not believe he was a doctor?

"A random kid in the hallway. I was asking him where here was, and he started talking about how everyone's wanted to beat that kid, they just never had the guts!"

"You know, I bet she has anger problems because she doesn't have a father around." She shot at House.

"Where's his Dad, huh? Where's your hubbie?" He stood up now, as did she.

"He's away at a conference." She stopped yelling and started talking sternly again.

"With his secretary?" House didn't even miss a beat. I quickly stood up, placed my hand on his shoulder, and forced him sit back down. And I shook my head furiously, my facial expression saying, 'No! No no no no no no no'.

Milo's mom's face went hard. "That is none of your damn business."

Then the attorney finally stepped in. "I think that's enough."

"As do I." The Principle agreed. "Milo, take the rest of the day off. Reese, take two. And the both of you," She was talking to House and Cheryl. "Cool down. It's not like they were on trial. But I do not want this to happen again. If it does, they will both be suspended."

The moment she told me I had to go home, I picked up my bag from the floor and walked out. House followed as soon as he was let go. By the time he had signed me out and gotten into the hallway, I was already outside. When he was about halfway down the hallway, Mrs. Holly shouted at him. "You are the worst father I have ever met!"

"I'm not her father!" He knew he was lying, but it didn't matter at the moment. "I'm just watching her while her mother's away." He then turned away from the constant yelling of Cheryl. When he got outside it was raining. House started to look for me, and he didn't have to look long. I was currently laying on the sidewalk with my eyes closed, feeling the rain pound on me. He came over to me, and gently nudged me with his cane. "Common, get up. Don't want you to catch a cold." I stood up, grabbed my bag which was safely under the reach of the school ceiling, and followed him to his car. After we started moving, I had expected him to interrogate me, but he didn't. Didn't even think about it. He just turned on the radio, and kept the ride silent between us. The school wasn't that far from the hospital, so we got there quickly. After we had gotten into the building, he asked me, "Have you eaten lunch?"

I shook my head.

"Here," He pulled out his wallet and took a five out and handed it to me. "Get something in the cafeteria, I have to go back to work. My shift ends at six, so meet me here at six ten, okay?" I nodded, and we went in different directions.


	3. Chapter 3

_All around me are familiar faces_

_Worn out places, worn out faces_

_Bright and early for the daily races_

_Going nowhere, going nowhere_

Gary Jules sang into my ear as I worked on my Latin sentences. I hated Latin three.

_Musician ludio fides. _The musician played the lyre.

_Canis fugo felis. _The dog chased the cat.

Just when I was about to do the third sentence, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up and saw an Indian man with spiky hair. "May I sit with you?" I read his lips, and nodded. He took the seat across from me, and I took out my headphones and turned off my ipod. "My name is Lawrence Kutner." He held out his hand, and I shook it.

I took out a notebook from my backpack, flipped it to the newest page, and wrote. 'I'm Reese.'

"Do you talk?" He asked in a polite tone.

I shrugged. 'Sometimes.'

"Why only sometimes?" He brought his eyebrows slightly together.

I shrugged again. 'There's not much to say.'

He smirked. "I went through that phase."

'It happens.'

He took the notebook and pen, and wrote down. "What are you doing here?"

'My mom's away, and the person who's watching me works here.'

"Who's your mom?"

I shook my head. 'You don't know her.'

"Then who's watching you?"

'Dr. House.'

"Really?"

'Yeah, apparently he's a friend of the family.' He chuckled, and I changed the subject. 'What about you? Where are your parents?'

He took a second to think about what he was willing to put down before he put it down. "My parents died when I was six. I lost touch with my foster family after I went to college."

'I'm sorry.'

"You don't have to be. It wasn't your fault." I stared at him with sad eyes, and he quickly changed the subject. "What are you working on?"

I then gave him a privilege that only Wilson and my mom have gotten. "Latin." I whispered to him.

He smiled a little. "I took Latin in High School. Need any help?" I smiled back and nodded. He went through every single sentence with me, and showed me what I did wrong and how to fix it. After we had finished the paper, we started a new conversation about Latin class. He hadn't touched his tray of food since he sat down. Giving it a quick glance, he grabbed one of the cookies he had taken and handed one to me. I took it cautiously, and placed it onto a napkin that I had taken from his tray. "What's wrong?"

I wrote down, 'I'm lactose intolerant.'

"Trust me, there's nothing in here but plastic and food coloring." He joked. I chuckled, and took a bite. It tasted disgusting, and the smell was even worse. It tasted like burnt...matter. It didn't even have a description; and it smelled like salsa flavored popcorn cooked to a crisp. It was completely horrible in every way. After I had swallowed it, we continued our conversation, but after a while, I started to turn pale. After a little bit more talking, I started to feel bile creeping up my throat. I put my hand up to my mouth to stop it from coming out.

"Bathroom?" I asked quickly and quietly.

"Right over there." He pointed to the handicapped family bathroom.

"Excuse me." I rushed over, went in, locked the door, and immediately threw up in the toilet. Everything that hadn't been digested yet, came up. It was completely disgusting. Even after my breakfast and lunch had come up, extra bile burned it's way up as well. After I was sure I was done, I flushed the toilet, sat against the wall and relaxed.

"Reese?" Kutner lightly knocked on the door. "Are you okay?"

I got up, went over to the sink and turned on the water. I filled my hands with water and washed my mouth out; then cleaned my face. God I hated throwing up.

"Reese!" Oh, shit. "Reese?!" I slowly walked over to the door and unlocked it. When I opened the door, I came face to chest with House. I raised my head to meet his eyes, and smiled nervously. "Are you okay?" He had trouble sounding like he meant it. I nodded quickly. "What happened?"

"She threw up." Kutner said behind him. House looked at him with eyes that told him to shut up.

"Why?" He turned back to me.

"Because I gave her a cookie, and I didn't realize that she was lactose intolerant. It was my fault."

"It is true?" I shook my head. "Then whose fault was it?"

I couldn't really tell him the answer without speaking to him, and I wasn't comfortable with that yet; so, I walked past him and whispered my response in Kutner's ear. "She said it was her fault for taking the cookie. She knew she shouldn't have, but she did anyway. And she's sorry." I didn't wait for him to respond before I went back to the table and packed up.

I started to leave when House called, "Where are you going?"

I turned back to him, brought the fingertips of my right hand to a point, put it at the edge of my mouth, dragged them to my ear. When he looked at me, confused, I smiled and left.

"You better go after her." Kutner said. House looked at him. "She just said she's going home." He started to hobble after me, and finally caught me in the lobby near the water feature.

"Reese! Where are you going to go?" He shouted. I stopped, turned back to him (whilst taking a piece of paper out of my back pocket) and showed him the piece of paper. "Okay, so you have my address. How're you going to get in?" I rolled my eyes and took a set of keys from my pocket. He patted the pocket in his jeans where he usually kept his keys, and he stared in disbelief. "You picked my pocket." I nodded with a little pride. He held out his hand. "Give me my keys." I shook my head. He asked for them again, and I responded by signing 'house' and pointing to the keys. He sighed, "The bronze key that's connected to the green tab." I took that off and tossed him the other keys. After I waved, I left the hospital.

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It took a while, but I finally found his house. I laughed when I actually saw the number on the door. 221B...the strangest coincidence I've ever seen. I went to unlock the door, and I found it was already unlocked. Cautiously, I opened the door, and looked inside before I went in. I took everything in after a few seconds: Piano, guitars, kitchen, couch...everything relatively normal. After I shut the door and placed my back pack next to the couch, I heard a voice mumbling in the other room.

"Hey! I'm hungry, did you bring food?" A man almost as tall as House came out of an open room carrying a cardboard box. He had brown spiked hair, pale blue eyes, and an unshaven face like House. "Who are you?" I continued to stare at him like he was crazy. "What are you doing here?"

I signed 'house' again, and he understood.

"You don't live here." He continued to stare at me.

In answer to him, I got closer to him, and started to spell out 'House' with the alphabet.

"House..." He said to tell me to go on. I then spread my thumb and index finger apart and turned my hand so that my palm was facing me. "Watch..." I pointed to myself. "You..." I held up two fingers. "Two..." Then I flattened my left hand palm up, and ran my right hand, with my index finger out, over it. "Weeks. Oh, okay. Where is he?" I then traced a cross over my right arm with my left index and middle fingers. He nodded in understanding. "Hospital." Next, I pointed to him. "Me..." Then I hit my index and middle fingers together, making an 'x'. "Name. I'm Lucas." I spelled out 'Reese'. "Reese, it's nice to meet you." He held out his hand and I shook it. The next thing I did, was make a sideways 'c' and make a line down my chest with it. "A little. Are you?" He repeated my sign. I nodded. He dropped the box, and grabbed his keys from his pocket. "Lunch?" I smiled and nodded.

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Around ten that night, I was at House's house, and he was still at the hospital. He had called to tell me that he was going to be late; of course, he didn't expect an answer. Lucas went to House's office, to find him reading some papers. He opened the door, and sat down in the chair on the other side of his desk.

"So, I met someone interesting today." He started off.

"Did you now?" House didn't even look up from the papers.

He nodded. "Yeah. I met your daughter."

House's eyes tightened as he looked up at Lucas. "I don't have a daughter."

"Don't lie to me. Reese is your daughter."

He swallowed, and breathed before he said, "How do you know?"

"Your eyes. She has your eyes."

"A lot of people have these eyes." House denied.

"She also has your sarcasm, wit, and musical expertise. The only differences between you two are age, gender, and she doesn't feel like talking most of the time." Lucas grinned. "She has you written all over her."

House sighed, "You got her to talk?"

Lucas nodded. "A word or two. Not much."

House slightly nodded. "Kutner did too."

"You have to level with her." Lucas answered House's unasked question. "With Kutner it was the fact that they both took Latin. With us; we both know sign language. You know how to play the piano, teach her how to play a song. Or better yet, let her play one for you."

"I don't need parenting tips-" House started, but Lucas interrupted him.

"Go home House. Be with her. Talk to her, read what she writes down. Play the piano with her, teach her a song. Watch TV with her, I don't care. Just go be with your daughter."

House started to pack up his papers, and putting some things into his back pack. "Good night, Lucas."

"Night, House."

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I took a deep breath as I sat at the piano. I laid my hands in the right place, closed my eyes and began to play. F F G A AG F E D D E F F E E. F F G A A G F E D D E F E D D-. E E F D E FG F D E FG F E D E D. F F G A A G F E D D E F E D D-. Ode to Joy is my favorite song to play. I let out my breath, and slowly opened my eyes. I love playing the piano. It's the most amazing feeling when you can play a song without even thinking about it.

"You're good." House's voice interrupted me. I shot my head up, and gasped. I didn't even hear him come in, but he heard me. "But, you have one flaw," He came over and sat down next to me. "At the end of the third staff, the D is actually the A on the Bass Staff. Try again." I nodded.

F F G A A G F E D D E F F E E. F F G A A G F E D D E F E D D-. E E F D E FG F D E FG F E D E **A**. F F G A A G F E D D E F E D D-. I looked at him for his opinion.

"Good. Very good. Now," He reached down to the floor into the box of sheet music that he had. He pulled one out, and placed it in front of me. "Try this one." I nodded, and looked at it. Uh oh. There were no letters My shoulders stooped, I couldn't read it. When I didn't start playing, he asked, "What's wrong?"

I was about to tell him, but I changed my mind. He couldn't know. Instead: E- E D **C A G- C- **D D- D D- C- E- C- **A- F **E- E D **C A G- C- **F- E- E- D- D- C_C- . I took my hands off of the piano, and placed them in my lap.

"Why didn't you play Beethoven's symphony?" I didn't look at him. I just stared at the keys. "You can't read it, can you?" I shook my head. "Then how do you know how to play?"

I swallowed. "Letters. They're easy to follow." I looked over at him.

He stared me in the eye. I thought he would be angry, but his eyes were soft. "Do you want me to teach you?" I kind of smiled, and nodded. "Okay, this is the treble clef..." He started.

Wednesday.


	4. Chapter 4

_I ran into the step in closet of my room, and curled up in a ball. Please don't let him find me, I prayed as I heard the door to my room open. Mom's new boyfriend was the worst yet. She had to make a quick run back to the hospital, and him and me were left alone, much to my disgust. _

"_Come out, come out where ever you are." He said in a vicious sing-song voice. I just curled up tighter. He stepped in front of my closet door and knocked on the door. "I just wanna talk Reese." Like I was really going to believe him. He knocked harder. "Reese!"_

_Frantically, I searched for something that could help me. There wasn't really anything in my closet, I used a dresser, so it was pretty much empty, except for my bookshelf. I blindly grabbed a hardcover, and held it to my chest. Okay, plan, I thought quickly as he practically ripped the door off. Uh...tackle, hit, run? Good enough. I waited for about three seconds before the door was completely off and he was standing right in front of me. _

"_Hello, Reese." He said in an angry voice before he started for me. At that moment, I ran at his legs, and rammed into his knees with my shoulder. He shouted as he fell to the ground hard, and tried to grab at me, but I batted his hands away with the book. He swiped at my book, and tried to get up. But, I held onto it with both hands and bashed his head once, and he was delayed by the pain. Then, I ran straight out of the house, and into the street. I had no idea where I going, but I didn't dare look back. I couldn't stop running, my mind told my body to stop because it was tired, but my body ignored that suggestion and just kept going._

_Suddenly, I arrived at the apartment building that I knew was a safe place. I ran to the door, and pressed the button that buzzed his place several times with a quick pace. After a few minutes, I heard his voice saying, "Alright! Alright! I'm coming." Finally, I he opened the door and was taken by surprise. "Reese? What are you doing here? What's wrong?"_

_As soon as he had finished talking, I jumped at him, and held him as tight as I could. Wilson hugged me back, backed up a little and closed the door so that we weren't out in the cold November weather. "It's okay, Reese. You're safe. It's okay." He had decided that getting me into his apartment and warmed up was more important that the reason for me being there. So, he carried me up the three flights of stairs, and about halfway up, he noticed that his shoulder was wet. She was crying? Oh God, he thought. Something bad must have happened, she never cries. Wilson had gently placed me on his couch, and looked me straight in the eye. "What happened?"_

"_Mom's boyfriend tried to touch me." I said to him shaking._

_His eyes grew wide. "In what way?"_

_I sniffled. "The bad way." _

_His eyes went even wider. "You need to tell me exactly what happened tonight."_

"_Well, he came over, and they were about to go out, when mom remembered that she forgot something at the hospital. He offered to stay and watch me while she went to go to the hospital, and she thanked him and left. He started off pretty nice, and he was talking to me. Then he touched my cheek; kind of like how he does to mom when he brings her home. I stepped away from him, and he grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. He started to rub his hands on my body, and I ran to my room. I went into my closet, closed the door, and hid in the corner. He came followed me, and ripped off the door to the closet in anger. I grabbed one of my hardcover books, and started hitting him. When I hit him in the head, he fell and, I was just so scared, so I ran here." That was the most I had ever said to him. And I spoke to him quite often, I mean he was my best friend._

I shot up, breathing heavily. Why is it always the same memory? I looked over to the kitchen and looked at the inch tall clock on the stove. Two thirty. Cool, an hour and a half more than I normally get. I got up from the couch, and went over to the cabinet by the television, and opened it, looking for a movie that I could watch to get through the night. I sighed, he had nothing good. I went over to my back pack, and pulled out a stack of Post-Its, and peeled one off. I wrote a little note on it, just in case House woke up and came out in the living room and I wasn't there. Putting my shoes on, I grabbed my coat from the table, and left quietly. The early morning air stung my legs as I walked down the street in a pair of basketball shorts. I don't play, they're just comfortable. I looked at the street sign at the end of the street, and made a left onto Kelley Ave. I wasn't really thinking while I walked, I was just walking. About a half hour later, I saw light hitting the sidewalk in front of me. I turned and saw House in his car, following me. I rolled my eyes, and went over to the passenger's side door.

He rolled down the window, "Went home, be right back?" he said, holding up my note.

I nodded like it didn't need anymore explaining.

"Why?" I snatched the post-it from him, took the pen that I always carried out of my coat pocket, and scribbled another note on it. I handed it back to him. "You have bad taste in movies?" He read, and I nodded. He sighed, and rolled his head to the side, as if making a decision he didn't want to make. "Get in." He unlocked the door, and I reluctantly got in. He continued driving on the road, and we continued not talking. When he pulled up to my house, I quickly got out, and unlocked the door before he could catch up. I didn't shut the door on him, I just went straight into my room, and to one of my bookcases. After the incident, I moved everything out of the closet, and got a second bookcase. The one with books in it, was blocking off the closet; the one full of movies was on the other side of the room with a television and portable DVD player on top of it. I quickly picked seven random movies, and unplugged the DVD player, and put into a sling bag that has faithfully hung on the door knob for about four years. I walked out of my room, and found House standing in the hallway with a manila folder in his hand.

"What's this?" He asked, and he showed my the heading on it, 'The Case Of Reese Cuddy v. Asher Thatch'.

It really wasn't any of his business, but he took the short amount of time I gave him to snoop, so I granted him some leeway. "It's why I don't sleep at night. You can read it, I don't care. It's not going to change anything though." His eyes were wide with surprise. A) That was the most I had ever said to anyone he knew so far, and B) If Cuddy's old 'bf' did anything to hurt his daughter, he was going to kill him. And no, that wasn't just an expression.

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When we got back to House's house (Author: -giggles-), he didn't speak anymore to me, he just went into his room. Not wanting to bother him, I quietly hooked up the DVD player, and put in _Little Miss Sunshine_. I laid back down on the couch, grabbed the remote that came with the player, and curled up under my blanket. I pressed play, and let the movie start. About thirty minutes into the movie, I heard House come into the living room.

He came over to the side of the couch where my head was, and said, "Move your head." I sat up, and he sat down. I figured, 'what the hell,' and I placed my pillow on his left leg, and laid my head back down. He was a little startled, "This is _my _couch. My seat."

I grabbed my notepad from the coffee table, and scribbled, "It's _my _bed."

He read it and scoffed. "It's _my_ leg."

I wrote beneath it, "Well, _your _leg has become _my_ new pillow. So get over it."

He smirked and let it go. She really is my kid, he thought as he watched the movie. After a while, he started to gently run his fingers down my arm repeatedly. Strangely, I didn't pull away. It wasn't a touch that said, "I'm gonna get in your pants." It was a touch that was comforting, fatherly. It was a touch that said he cared. It felt so nice to have someone care, that I eventually drifted off to a dreamless sleep. It was the first time I had slept more than three hours in a row in nine years.

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At nine that morning, I woke up to stare at a Post-it note that had been attached to my forehead. I peeled it off, and read, "When you wake up, call Lucas and he'll bring you to the hospital. House." I smirked and got off of the couch. I went into my gym bag, and pulled out a set of clothes and my toothbrush and tooth paste. Then, I went into the bathroom, took a shower, got dressed, and brushed my teeth. I ran my fingers through my wet hair before I grabbed my coat and headed out the door. Like I was really going to call Lucas. It only took three hours to walk the eight miles to get here yesterday, and plus I had my ipod, so three hours of my life weren't completely wasted. I turned my ipod on, and put it on shuffle as I began walking to the hospital. I had gone through three songs before I had gotten to an intersection. Like a good civilian, I pushed the walk button, and waited for it to let me cross. When it finally did, I crossed it with about six other people. I was surrounded by people who were walking to a bus, or heading to Starbucks. Everyone had headphones in, either to music or a phone. So none of us noticed when a car started towards us, obviously out of control. None of us noticed the horn honking at us to get out of the way. But all of us felt it when it crashed into us like a bowling ball. Half of us felt the car under us as we rolled over it. I was part of that half. My head was the first thing to hit the pavement. I didn't feel the pain until I had the sudden stop. But the pain didn't last long, maybe ten seconds before I blacked out.

Is it just me, or does this week seem to hate me?

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House was listening to a babbling old woman who was explaining her 'situation' aka her STD. He took a glance at her chart to find out what she actually had, and then looked back up at her. She was still going on. Is it just me, he thought, or does this week seem to hate me? "Look!" he finally stopped her. "You have syphilis! Take penicillin, and it will go away!" The woman seemed stunned, so he took out his pad of paper and wrote her a prescription. "Now you go away!" when she didn't move, he left himself. He was met by tens of people rushing to the clinic.

"Dr. House!" A nurse called him to the ruckus. "We need your help." He limped towards her, and she started to explain everything to him. "A car hit seven people at a cross walk. It was a hit and run. Most of them are fine, but two or three of them passed out and have yet to wake up." They hurried to where the victims were.

"Where are the ones that haven't regained consciousness?" He asked as he saw all of these people that looked like business men and women. Probably so plugged into their own work related world that they didn't notice this car.

"Over here." She led him to a curtained off corner. She pulled it back, and House felt his heart stop. One of the three of them was Reese.

"Take the girl upstairs. I want to keep an eye on her." The nurse, knowing better than to question him, did exactly as he said. On the outside, House looked normal and mostly calm, but on the inside he was crying. He couldn't stand to look at Reese hurt. He couldn't say when, but one time when he let his guard down, she had gotten under his skin, and she planned to stay there.


	5. Chapter 5

"_Come out, come out where ever you are." He said in a vicious sing-song voice... ..."I just wanna talk Reese... ..." Then he touched my cheek; kind of like how he does to mom when he brings her home. I stepped away from him, and he grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. He started to rub his hands on my body..._

I woke with bated breath. It just wouldn't go away. Then, I whimpered at the fact that I could still feel him touching me.

"Hey," I heard House say next to me. I looked over at him, and he looked very worried. He stood up from his chair, and came up to my bed. "How're you doing? Are you okay?"

I nodded with wide eyes. Why did he care? It's not like he's family. I grabbed the sheet that covered me, and threw it off of me. I shook off the dream, and jumped down from the bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" He stepped in front of me.

I stepped around him and threw up my hands. "Somewhere."

He walked with me, and tripped me with his cane. "I don't think so."

I fell to the floor hard, and screamed in pain. My sides hurt like hell. The car probably broke a couple ribs. My arms were shaking when I finally started to pick myself up. When I steadied myself, I said to him, "Look Dad, I can't stay in one place too long. It's not healthy for me."

He was going to say something in rebuttal, but he stopped himself. "Dad?"

I was trying to leave, and he kept pulling me back in. "Yeah, look, I've known since I was six, okay? It's no big deal." I started to walk away from him. "It's not like I didn't take care of myself, anyway." I left the hospital, my breathing very erratic and heavy. God my chest hurt.

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"She hates me." House said into his phone when he got home.

"I'm sure she doesn't hate you." Cuddy tried to explain as she did paperwork on the bed in her hotel room.

"Oh yes she does. You know, she snuck out last night? And today, when she-"

Cuddy cut him off. "You're really trying with her, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, she is my kid. And I have her for a week, I've gotta at least be civil."

She was flabbergasted. "I don't think I've ever seen you try this hard at a relationship."

"Hey, um, she went out today, and she's still not home. Do you have any clue where she might have gone." House was sitting in his living room, just waiting.

"Well, when she's normally gone, she's either at the library or hanging out with Wilson. But since Wilson isn't talking to her at the moment, she is most likely at the library. What happened, you guys have a tissy?" She mocked him.

"No, she got hit by a car, and I'm a little worried." Okay, so it wasn't the best way to tell her, but at least he told her.

"She got hit by a car!?!?!" Cuddy practically screamed into the phone.

"Don't worry, I took care of her. Although, tripping her and letting her fall to the ground probably wasn't the best for her three broken ribs."

"House!" Cuddy yelled at him to get to the point.

He was going to say something to calm Cuddy down, but there was a knock on his door. "Hold on." He got up and limped to the door, and opened it. He was surprised at what he saw: Wilson had an arm around my shoulder, helping me to stand up. I was breathing very heavily. "I'm gonna call you back." He hung up on Cuddy, and waited for Wilson to say something.

"I believe this belongs to you." House stepped aside, and Wilson helped me inside, and onto his couch. After he sat me down, he turned to House and said, "Don't trip her again." Then he left without another word; House just being too stunned to say anything back to him.

A second later, his phone rang in his hand. He looked at the number, and pressed ignore. He looked at me, and I questioned him with me eyes. "It was your mom." I nodded, and laid myself down. I sighed in relief, and House turned off the lights, and grabbed my pillow. He lifted my head, and sat down like he did last night, and put the pillow on his left leg, and I let my head down. I was so tired, making my way to Wilson's took forever, and it pretty much took everything out of me. Again he started to pet my arm, and it felt so nice. I liked having someone who would rather stay with their child when they were hurting, than go out on a date or to a fund-raiser. In no time at all, House had lulled me into a dreamless sleep.

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House had turned his house phone off, and his cell phone on vibrate. If Reese was going to make it in New York City tomorrow night, she needed to be rested. He turned on the television after she had fallen asleep and had the volume way down. He would never admit it to anyone, but he liked being close to her like this, it made him feel like a real dad. When Cuddy gets back, he's going to demand to see her more. Just then, his cell phone started vibrating in his lap. He answered with a whisper. "What?"

"Why did you hang up on me?" He brought the phone away from his ear as Cuddy yelled into the receiver.

"She's sleeping." He whispered and I stirred a tiny bit.

"Why are you whispering?" Cuddy was still angry, but a little confused at his whispering.

"Because her head is on my lap. Now, I don't want to wake her up because she just got to sleep, and she really needs the sleep for tomorrow."

"I'll email you then."

"My laptop is in my office."

"Reese's is in her bag. Grab hers." She hung up on him, and he reached down into the clothes, and grabbed the laptop at the bottom of the bag. He pulled it up, and rested it on the arm of the couch. After he turned it on, he went into Mozilla Firefox. It automatically opened to her hotmail account, and he saw that there was three new messages. One was from Doctor Dictionary, another from Viagra ( he deleted that one as soon as he saw it), and the last one was from Cuddy. He opened it to find an angry message:

_WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE WAS HIT BY A CAR!!!!!_

He typed in reply: _She was on her way to the hospital, and the car bashed into a bunch of people. Don't worry, she's alright._ He sent it, and waited patiently by watching an old rerun of _M*A*S*H_ on TV Land. When he did get the reply, he was a little afraid to open it.

But when he did, he read: _I'm coming home early. Obviously I can't trust her not to get hurt around you._

He wrote back to her: _You better not come home early. It's nice to come back from work with someone here._ Okay, he thought as he sent that, that sounded totally gay.

He waited for a few minutes for her reply, and was a little surprised when he got it: _Just be careful in New York. And wish her a happy birthday tomorrow for me. And if anything else happens to her, you better tell me, or I'm going to castrate you._

Okay, so it started out nice and fine, but ended nastily, like any other fight that they had. He quietly put the laptop away, and went back to gently stroking my arm. This feels right, House thought as he stared at me in a loving father way, being with my daughter is an amazing feeling. Now I know why Cuddy wanted a kid.

Thursday.


	6. Chapter 6

When I woke up, House was gone. And yet again, there was another Post-It note on my forehead. I peeled it off, and read it: "I'll be home at three today. Don't you dare try to leave the house. Rest up as much as you can. If your ribs start to hurt, there's some Tylenol on the table and a bottle of water. Oh, and Happy Birthday." I slightly smiled, and let out a breath. I closed my eyes, and relaxed. Mom must've told him. Why is he coming home early? I let it go, and closed my eyes.

I laid on the couch for a while, not letting myself fall asleep. I couldn't fall asleep again. Sighing, I sat up and looked at the clock on the stove. Twelve hours? What is it about House that just makes me sleep well? I sighed, I better call mom, she'll be worried that I haven't called her when I promised I would. I looked for the phone and picked it up from the table. I quickly dialed her hotel.

"Hilton Columbus, how may I help you?" The clerk answered.

"Hi, um, I'm looking for a Lisa Cuddy. It's her daughter."

"I'll ring her room for you."

"Thank you." I was put on hold, and listened to some elevator music as he tried to patch me through.

"I'm sorry, but Miss Cuddy isn't in at the moment. Can I take a message?"

"Just tell her that her daughter called."

"I'll make sure she gets it."

"Thank you." I hung up and put the phone in my lap. It seems like every time I call her when she's gone, she's never there. I sat on the couch. Boring, I know. It's so boring when you're not in school. What am I supposed to do? Bloody Milo, he's probably the one that hit us. He would too. I sighed and started to lean over to my bag for my book, but a huge shot of pain coursed through me, and I sat back up. Bad idea. Okay, no leaning over. I slowly stood up, and pretty much waddled over to my bag, squat down, and grabbed my book. I waddled past the couch, and headed for the kitchen. I was pretty much spent when I got there. I opened the refrigerator, and pulled out one of the bottles of water. Getting back to the couch took forever. When I had finally relaxed back onto the couch, I was so relieved. Being terribly tired from walking around, I decided to only read a little before going back to sleep.

_'Lestrade and I sat in silent for a moment, and then, with a spontaneous impulse, we both broke out clapping, as at the well-wrought crisis of play. A flush of color sprang to Holmes' pale cheeks, and he bowed to us like the master dramatist who receives the homage of his audience.'_ My eyes started to close, but I jerked awake. Ow. I'm just full of bad ideas today. Maybe sleeping now was a good idea. I placed my bookmark in and gave it a quick glance and smiled. It was a picture of House and mom in college. He was kissing her on the cheek in the frame and her face was lit up. It must have been a surprise. I placed my book on the coffee table, and laid back down, being ever gentle on my sides. I really hope he turns out to be as caring as he used to be. Mom said that he was the best...boyfriend she had ever had.

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"All around me are familiar faces, worn out places, worn out faces." I sang softly as I gently hit each note from memory. "Bright and early for the daily races, going nowhere, going nowhere. The tears are filling up their glasses, no expression, no expression. Hide my head, I wanna drown my sorrow. No tomorrow, no tomorrow." I was so engrossed, that I didn't hear House enter. Was it three o'clock already? "And I find it kinda funny, I find it kind of sad, the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had. I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take, when people run in circles its a very very...mad world. Mad world." He had come closer to me, and put his coat on the couch, and bag on the floor. I heard the bag hit the floor, and my red (from embarrassment) face shot up to his.

"Don't stop on my account, you were doing fine." I looked down at the piano, and placed my hands in the right place.

I took a deep breath, and began again. "Children waiting for the day they feel good, happy birthday, happy birthday. Went to school and I was very nervous, no one knew me, no one knew me. Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson. Look right through me, look right through me." House stared at me as I finished the song. Oh God, I hate it when people judge me.

When I finished, he said, "You have a good voice." He stood up from the couch and started for his bed room. "You should use it more often." I sat at the piano, looking in his direction, just wondering what he was doing home so early. Then, he came out with a small box wrapped in metallic silver paper. I closed my eyes so he didn't see me roll them. Mom must have put him up to this. He handed it to me. "Happy Birthday."

I took it, and carefully opened it. It was beautiful paper, didn't want to ruin it. I opened the box, and my eyes went wide. It was the tickets. My eyes shot up to his, waiting for an explanation.

He shrugged, "Cuddy said that you really wanted to go. And if we want to see a little of New York, you need to get dressed."

I raised an eyebrow, "In what? All of my nice clothes are in my closet. And I normally don't go into my closet. It's a little scary in there."

"Well, lucky for you, Cuddy picked out a wonderful outfit for you to wear." House motioned for me to follow him to his room.

"If it's pink, I'm going in jeans." I walked behind him, and waited for him to pull it out.

He chuckled and shook his head, "I wouldn't blame you." He pulled out a garment bag, and handed it to me. I unzipped it, and looked at my green wrap-style shirt with the black camisole. Folded on the hanger under it, was one of my black pairs of dress pants. When I closed it up, House handed me a shoe box with my green heels in it. I know, forcing heels on a fourteen year old kid? Cuddy is so weird. "Just get dressed, and we'll go."

"What about the bandages? They shouldn't get wet." He followed behind me as I started for the bathroom.

"I brought you a back brace. It will limit your ability to bend forward, but it'll help the healing process." He was about to go out to the living room, and my question didn't stop him.

"How is that going to help my bandage problem?"

"Take them off. No one's stopping you." What is with him and leaving with me with more questions?

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House was waiting for my in the living room when I came out. He was in a black suit jacket, with a pair of nice pants and a plain green shirt. "You look nice."

"As do you." I could tell that he didn't give compliments often, the way he said it showed it all.

"Here," he handed the brace to me. "It should be easy enough to figure out." By the looks of it, it did look pretty easy. After I had secured it around me, House handed me my pea coat, and held the door open for me. What a gentleman.


	7. Chapter 7

We didn't talk much on the drive there; he turned on the radio, and we kept silent. After we had been stuck in traffic for about ten minutes, he asked, "Can I ask you something?"

I shrugged and turned to him. "Sure."

"If Cuddy already had you, why did she want another child? I mean, you're a great kid." I blushed slightly.

"I'm a House, and she wanted a Cuddy. In simplest terms, she wanted a kid she could manipulate into a clone of her, and I was too...I would say, unique to be molded." I had trailed off, for my mind was spinning on a certain idea.

"What are you thinking about?" He noticed that I had lost interest mid sentence.

"I know this is going to sound like something an ordinary teenager would say, but I don't think she likes me all that much."

"How so?"

"I think it's mostly the fact that I never really needed her. I could always take care of myself. And those few times when I did need her, she couldn't bother."

"And what times were those?" What am I doing, I'm not a therapist! He thought.

"Well, there was that time that you read about, the next year I broke my arm falling off the playground at school, and when I was twelve I got pneumonia. And every one of those times, Wilson was with me, either comforting me, or setting the bone, or giving me antibiotics. Cuddy was always working, or on a trip, or distracted by the boyfriend. Wilson was more of a mother than she was. Which, of course, isn't saying much for him." That made House chuckle.

"He is a little more feminine than most." I smiled and nodded. "You called her Cuddy, why?"

I shrugged. "I don't really respect her. I mean, she went out with Asher, even after that little incident."

"Really?" House was kind of disgusted.

I nodded. "Yeah. She still doesn't believe it happened." I looked around from the car, and said, "The zoo?"

He nodded. "I used to love the zoo when I was a kid. We used to travel a lot, since my dad was in the army, and my mother would take me to see all the different zoos."

"It sounds nice." I smiled up at him.

"It was." Then, House did something he was a little unsure about. He went next to me, and nervously put his arm around my shoulder. The sudden touch kind of spooked me, but I relaxed, and went with it. If he wanted to play Daddy, fine. We walked up to the ticket booth, he bought two, and we went inside. We walked around for a little bit, first stopping at the polar bears, then the birds, and lizards. After a while, and several vicoden later, we had arrived at the moose and deer park. That was my favorite part of the entire zoo. I had leaned on the fence, and was watching them for about five minutes before a moose had looked up from grazing, and stared at me straight in the eyes. And I stared right back. A few seconds into the staring contest, I think he nodded and I nodded back, and went back to grazing. House had looked over at me when the moose did. "What was that all about?"

I was smiling. "We have an understanding. He's quiet, I'm quiet."

"Why are you so quiet?"

I shrugged. "There's really not much to say, and what you do want to say, others say it for you."

"That's deep," I chuckled. "You've started talking to me more."

"You're easy to talk to." He just laughed at me.

"No I'm not."

"Why do you always sell yourself short? It's like you don't think you deserve...anything."  
He just stared. "I don't want to talk about me."

"And yet we are." I stared right back. No one could beat the House eyes. Not even him.

"I'll be back." He murmured, and started walking away.

"I'll be here." I called to him.

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_I was blown away, what could I say?_

_It all seemed to make sense_

_You're taking away everything_

_And I can't do without_

_I try to see the good in life_

_But good things in life are hard to find_

_We're blowing away, blowing away_

_Can we make this something good?_

I listened to my ipod whilst sitting on the bench by the moose and deer park. House still wasn't back yet, which is quite surprising. If he didn't come back soon, we were going to be late for the show. Then, I heard the most unexpected voice.

"Reese!" Oh God, I thought as I took out my ear buds, my mother.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Ohio." I said to her when she came up to me.

"House told me you got hit by a car-"

"Where's House?" I completely evaded her going-to-be-question. When she didn't answer, I asked again. "Where is House?"

"He's in the car." She had an angry tone in her voice. Immediately, I got myself up and started to walk away from her. "Reese, where are you going?"

I didn't answer, and boy did that piss her off. She followed me without another word because she knew I would tell her. When I got to the parking lot, I searched frantically for his car. He had to know that I didn't call her here. I finally found him, and knocked on his window.

He rolled it down. "Reese, go with your mother."

"I don't want to. Your too much fun." He smiled sadly and shook his head.

"Cuddy and I have an agreement. You'll stay at my house every other weekend."

"That's not fair! I'll only get twelve days with you before I leave! I want to stay with you Dad!" I pleaded with him.

"Dad?" Cuddy asked behind me. I turned a little too quickly and I felt a stab of pain in my side. But I ignored it. "You know?"

"Of course I know. I've known since I was six." She was shocked.

"Reese, we're going home."

"No. I'm not going with you. I'd rather take the bus." I walked away and Cuddy started to come after me, but House had gotten out of his car, and stopped her.

"Just let her go. She'll either call me or Wilson. She's very mad at you right now, so don't even expect a call. Why don't you just go back to Ohio, and I'll take care of it."

She was so huffed, that she finally said, "How did you make her like you?"

He shrugged, "I was there. I chased the nightmares away."


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" James Wilson said as he made is way from his bedroom to the door. When he opened it, he said full of disdain, "What do you want?"

"I need a place to stay for the night." I answered him with not as much hate, but it was still there.

"Why?"

"Because Cuddy and I had a fight, and I don't feel like being near her." I looked at him with that House look that Wilson couldn't say no to.

"One night?"

I nodded. "One night, and I'll be out of your hair...forever, if you want."

He sighed. "You know where the couch is." I nodded, and he stepped aside and let me in. "If you and Cuddy don't make up by tomorrow, where are you going to stay?" See, he doesn't completely hate me.

"Probably a motel."

"A motel? How are you going to afford it?"

"I have a job, you know." That threw him for a loop.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I play during the Kid's Hour at the library, that's why I'm there so much."

"Play?" He didn't know I played the piano.

"Play, as in provide the music for when they do plays, and games and stuff. It's not my dream job, but that'll come later."

"What instrument do you play?" He couldn't be mad at me anymore, there was just no way.

"Piano, they keep a keyboard in the back, and I bring it out every time I'm on duty, which is every single kid's hour until January 16th."

"And you didn't work today?"

I shook my head. "No. They have three day book exchanges. The first day, no one comes; second day everyone's there; third day, there's the stragglers. It started on Wednesday, and it ended today." I sat down on the couch, and relaxed against it. Wilson always had a very comfortable couch.

"So, how was your time with House?" He sat down next to me. He wasn't mad anymore.

"I wish I had more. He was...paternal." I smiled.

"Why are you and Cuddy mad at each other?"

"She came home early, and met us in New York. We were going to see Mary Poppins for my birthday, and we had gone to the zoo to kill time, and she shows up. She was taking him away from me. They agreed that I would stay with him every other weekend, but that's not enough. That is fourteen days and nights before I leave for Niagara. That's not enough to get to know your father."

"So, your decide to move out, and probably never see him again? Yeah, that sounds logical."

"Better to have no time, than have a little and want more."

"Cutting out both your mother and father? Can't be too greedy now can you? Might as well keep one." I missed his sarcasm.

"Alright, I'll keep House and donate Cuddy. Let's see what Goodwill can do with that." He smirked.

"I have never met someone who hated their mother as much as your do."

"I don't hate her, I just completely despise her."

"Touché." We talked like that for a few more minutes, before he ordered me to get some sleep. "If you want, I can go with you and search for at least, a decent place to live."

I smiled. "I'll be okay. But thanks."

"How're your ribs? Did they hurt today?" Oh, it's so cute how he worries.

"They're doing better. Back's a little stiff though. House gave me a back brace." I lifted my shirt up enough to show him.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to take a better look at that in the morning."

"I wouldn't mind at all." Carefully, I took off my shoes, and laid down on the couch.

"Good night, Reese." Wilson said when he turned off the light.

"Night, Wilson." I closed my eyes, and tried to sleep.

Friday.

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I couldn't sleep. He's still there. And I bet he's always going to be there. I sat on the couch. It's weird, I'm always sitting or laying down, and never speaking unless spoken to. I sighed, I'm so obedient. Another sigh, why do I have to be obedient? Who knows. God, just sitting is so boring. I'm a terribly boring person. Boring, boring, boring. What time is it? One o'clock. God, time moves so slow. And people say that it goes so fast, but that's only because they're asleep for half of their lives. And when they get an opportunity to do something worth while, they pass it up to rest. I don't get it. Why rest when you have a perfectly good opportunity to so something exciting and different. I don't understand people. One oh five. So slow. Le sigh. I really need something to do. Getting up, I made my way over to the door, and quietly left Wilson's apartment. In the cool October night air, my chest didn't seem to hurt. Strange. I had taken off my heels at Wilson's, and really didn't feel like putting them back on, so I went outside in my knee high black socks. Home wasn't too far away from Wilson's, maybe a mile, mile and a half. When I got there, I unlocked the door; Cuddy wasn't there. She must have gone back to Ohio. I turned on the light, and stared at the coffee table. There was a large box wrapped in shiny silver paper with a green bow. That wasn't there last night. I cautiously went over to it, and lifted the lid. There was a stuffed animal in it. A moose to be precisely. A fuzzy, soft, comfortable moose. I smiled as I took off the card from the lid and read it: _To chase away the nightmares when I can't be there. House._

Aw, he really does care.

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After I had changed, and gotten back to Wilson's, it was about two-ish. I had packed a bag with a couple days worth of clothes, just in case I didn't get home for a little bit. Also in that faithful bag, was the moose. What to call it, what to call it. Something thematic. Like a character from _Mary Poppins_. Bert! He's always been my favorite character. Bert the moose. I like it. So, when Bert and myself got back to Wilson's, we dropped the bag off next to the couch, and laid back down. I hope you're right da, I thought as I covered myself with a blanket that I had taken from my bed. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and held Bert tight.

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Later that morning, when Wilson came out to make himself some breakfast, he really didn't expect me to still be there. He knew me better than anyone else, and he knew that I was a born wanderer. When he saw me fast asleep, he was shocked. He had never seen me peacefully sleeping since before I was six. Where did that moose come from? He thought to himself. Then, took a quick glance at the table, and saw the card on it. He picked it up, read it and gave a slight smirk. So, House does care about someone other than himself.


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey Dad, it's Reese. I just wanted you to know that I'm alright. I'm at Wilson's right now, but I'll be at the library from noon to four everyday, so you can reach me there. My cell phone number is 555-6677, call if something comes up. Bye." I hung up on his answering machine. "Is he ever home?" I asked Wilson at the island in the kitchen.

He shook his head. "No. And when he is, he's not in a talkative mood."

"He sounds fun." Wilson chuckled at my sarcasm.

"You know, you don't have to leave. You can stay here."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, I don't want you to stay in some fleabag motel. I'd rather you'd be sleeping safely on my couch."

"Aw, Wilson! That's so sweet." I took a quick glance at my watch. "I gotta go. But, yeah. I would love to stay here. Thanks." I smiled as I went out the door, and out of the building. I must have healed at least a little, because the four mile walk to the library wasn't that bad. It actually was nice to go back to work.

Like every day, I walked in and waved at the head librarian before going into the back and grabbing the keyboard. "Hello Reese." I nodded at him, and began setting up. I laid the keyboard on the stand, and plugged it in the wall. I pulled a wheelie chair from the front desk to the keyboard, sat down, and started to play a merry tune. It was the bright and happy melody that the kids had come to know as the 'Story Time Melody'. In a matter of seconds, the kids that were in the library came and sat down in the bright green circle rug that the keyboard was next to. When the woman who does the whole 'story-time' thing came out, the kids cheered. I stopped playing as she started to tell the kids what they were going to do.

"Alright kids! Today is Wildlife Day! We are going to read a story, and make some masks, how do you like that?" They loved it.

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"Does that hurt?" Wilson asked as I sat in his apartment a couple hours later. I shook my head. "What about that?" He pushed another spot on my right side and I winced.

"Yeah."

"And here?"

"Not as much."

"Anything here?"

"No."

"Alright," He wrote something down in my file. "You seem to be doing fine, but I'm going to write you a note, getting you out of Gym for the next six weeks. And I'll check up on you every couple days."

"Thank you."

He smiled a little. "You're welcome." His phone rang. "Excuse me. Hello?"

"James? It's Blythe House."

"What's wrong? You sound distraught." He put the call on speaker when he saw my look of question.

"It's John. He...he had a terrible stroke, and died last night."

"Oh God." Wilson gasped.

"I was hoping that you could convince Greg to come down for the funeral. It would mean so much to me if he was there. Please James."

"I'll try my best, Mrs. House. But I really can't promise anything." A smile started to creep up on my face. So he was going to try to make up with House. Good.

"Thank you so much James." She sounded so grateful.

"Your welcome."

"The funeral's on Monday."

"I'll be there."

"Thank you again." And she hung up.

Saturday.

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The next day, I asked Wilson as he was packing, "Are you sure you don't want me to talk to him?"

"No, I'll find a way." He sighed. "Water the plants while I'm gone?"

"Of course."

"You gonna be okay by yourself for a few days?"

"I've been by myself before you know."

"Yeah, and last time you were, you got hit by a car, remember?"

"Now I know why you and House are BFF's." He gave me a glare. "Were BFF's." He shook his head and continued packing. "So what's your master plan?"

"I'm going to drug him." He said it like it was a normal thing to do.

"Sounds like fun."

"And then I'm going to take away his cane."

"Now that's just cruel." He chuckled at my tone. "You did call Cuddy, right? You told her your plan?"

"Yes, I did. And she told me to tell you that she wants you to come home."

"Wel you tell her that I-"

"I am not a carrier pigeon. If you want to tell your mother off, tell her yourself." He shut his suitcase. "Anyway, I've got to go pick up House, he should be drowsy by now." He grabbed his bag, and started for the door. "Remember to lock up before you go to bed."

"Of course. Oh, and give House my regards."

"Will do. I'll see you either Tuesday or Wednesday."

"Bye." And I closed the door behind him. The rest of the day was very boring. I just watched movies all day, and played on my computer. Boring boring boring. My life is so boring when I'm not in school. Thank God I get to go back tomorrow.

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At about ten that evening, there was a knock on the door. Getting up cautiously, I went over, and looked through the peep hole. Oh God it's my mother, I thought with disgust. Why can't she just leave me alone? Reluctantly, I unlocked the door, and opened it for her.

"What?"

"I want you to come home."

I shook my head. "No."

"I am your mother-"

"Really?" Sarcasm just spilled from my mouth. "Cause all this time I thought Wilson was my mother."

"Reese why do you hate me so much?"

"Because every time I wanted my mom, every time I needed you, you weren't there. You were always at work or on a date. Was I not good enough for you? Was I not good enough for you to cancel a date to come pick me up from school, instead of make me walk the three miles to get home? You remember that investor, Asher? Well that memory still burns in my mind. I can barely get to sleep because every time I close my eyes, I can feel him. But House made it go away, when you couldn't. When I was sleeping on his couch, we would watch tv before bed, and I would put my pillow on his lap, and he would pet my arm. It was his caring touch that made that memory go away for the night. I slept nine hours that night, I haven't done that since I was six. And look at this," I went and brought Bert to her from the couch. "He bought this for me at the zoo, and he wrote a note." I shoved it into her hands. After she read it, her eyes became slightly glassy. "And you wanted to take him away from me. I just don't get you."

"Reese-"

"Just go away," I snatched the note back, shut the door, and locked it before going to bed.

Sunday.


	10. Chapter 10

"Please take out your mythology books, and turn to chapter eight: Artemis." Maga, my Latin teacher said. "High light whatever you feel is necessary, it's not like mythology really matters in life." She hates her job. "Natalie, could you read the first paragraph, after the hymn, for me."

"The goddess Leto mated with Zeus and bore the twin deities, Artemis and Apollo. The story of Apollo's birth on the island of Delos is recounted in the next chapter in the version given by the _Homeric Hymn To Apollo_, but there are variants. Traditionally Artemis is born first at a place called Ortygia (the name means Quail Island), which cannot be identified with certainty. In some accounts it is clearly not merely another name for Delos; in others, it is. At any rate, Artemis either immediately or very soon after her birth is able to help with the delivery of her brother Apollo, thus performing one of her primary functions as a goddess of childbirth early in her career (a role she shares with Hera and Eileithya, as we have seen)." Latin is one of the most useless classes I'm taking. First off, Maga teaches us nothing; all she does is make us read from this book as she passes out stickers and candy. I should be doing something more productive with my time. I pulled out the white board I used to communicate with my teachers, and wrote on it. Maga knows that I don't like talking, and she knows I get bored very easily, so she lets me wander between other classes.

I raised the board, and she motioned for me to come up to her desk. "I wish I could go to the library with you." She signed my planner, and I headed out the door.

I made my way to the big place upstairs with all those books, and I signed myself in. You'd think that after spending three, sometimes four periods in the library, then leaving early to go work in a library I'd get sick of them. But no, I love all those books. I've read most of the ones in the school library, but not even close to half in the local one. I can't wait until this period is over, then I get to go to play. Why can't I be done with this school already? I've been waiting for college since I was twelve. I know people say that High School is the best years of your life, but when your as young as I am in a senior level, it's really not. You know, you don't have many friends, and people don't talk to you, and it really just sucks sometimes. So anyway, I sat myself down, and finished the Forensics homework that Mr. First had assigned, due Thursday.

"To all seniors leaving early, please keep in mind that it is raining heavily and to be careful of the other drivers." Common, common, this doesn't apply to me. "Also to those graduating in January," Finally. "Please meet with the fitters tomorrow during your lunch period and get your sizes along with the gown money if you plan on keeping yours. See you tomorrow." I grabbed my bag, went down to my locker and deposited everything except my planner and Sherlock Holmes book and started my walk to the library.

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"Reese, it's time to go home." Jude, the head librarian, said as he was about to close up. I had been playing Beethoven, Bach, and others because I had no real reason to go home. I ignored his comment, but sped up my pace so that I quickly wrapped up Für Elise. When I had finished, he said, "Do you want a ride home? It's dark out." I lightly shook my head, and started to take down the keyboard. "You alright?" I nodded, and went into the back to put everything away. "Are you sure you don't want a lift home? It would be no trouble."

I wrote on the board, 'I'll be fine.'

"Okay, see you tomorrow. I guess." He walked me out, and we went our different directions.

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"_Come sir," said he. "There is more in this than meets the eye. How came the letter back in the box?"_

_Holmes turned away smiling from the keen scrutiny of those wonder eyes._

"_We also have our diplomatic secret," said he and, picking up his hat, he turned to the door._

_The End_

I shut my book. Wonderful stories, all of them. My favorite being _The Adventure of the Three Students. _What am I going to read now? Wilson had a terrible book collection. Or maybe it's Amber's, who knows. He hasn't touched anything of hers since she died. It's kind of sad really. I mean, it's been two months, he could at least move her coffee cup from the counter and back into the cabinet. I wouldn't dare touch it though, he might get mad and kick me out. And that would be bad, because Cuddy is a bloody idiot. Can she not see that House absolutely loves her? How can she not see it, and not make a move. I mean, she loves him too. And she wouldn't have called him to 'watch' me if she really didn't care. I mean, this little dance that they do to see who comes out dominant is ridiculous. They know that they like each other, the other knows that they like each other, so why can't they just get together and save themselves a lot of grief from the other? I really just don't get. More than anything, I want my mom to be happy, and House would make her happy.

And then, there was a knock on the door. I got up and opened it to a Cuddy with a huge smile on her face and tears threatening to spill over. "Reese, my baby girl." Why was she acting all weird?

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're getting a baby sister."

My mouth dropped, my eyes widened, and my hopes of them ever getting together died. "What?" How could she do this to him?


	11. Chapter 11

_Some people have asked me what was going on with Cuddy and the new baby. Well, I just wanted to explain that I'm trying my best to work with the current episodes. So, the new baby is actually from Becca Robb. And while I'm writing this, I would like to personally thank all of you who have reviewed this particular story. I would also like to thank you who are reading this story. Anyway, I'm rambling, so just thank you!_

_ShortMoose_

"Come in," I opened the door enough for her to enter, and then closed it behind her. "Okay, explain." I sat her down on the couch.

"Well, you know that I had been on IVF for the longest time."

"Oh, my God are you pregnant?"

"No. I put an ad on an adoption agency website, and a mother who's almost nine months along, picked mine. I'm going be a mother again."

Her face was glowing, and her eyes were so bright. She was so happy. "I'm happy for you. I really am."

"I'm so excited." She leaned over, and gave me this huge hug that I wasn't exactly comfortable with, but that's okay. "Reese, I want you to move back home."

I pulled out of the hug and shook my head. "No. I'm sorry."

"But, I want you to be around for your new sister-"

"Mom, we fight way too much, and I don't want that to reflect on the kid." Okay, part of it was true, we fight a lot, but I could care less about the kid. I really don't like children. I kind of despise them really. I only tolerate the one's at the library because I don't have to actually speak to them.

"But Reese-"

"No. I'm so sorry. Look, I'll send her a birthday card and a Hanukkah present every year for all eternity, but no matter what, you and I will find a way to fight about something. I think she would grow up better, if I was just a name on a card."

Her face fell. "But, don't you want to get to know your little sister?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I don't like kids mom. I really hate them. They're rude, and they make noise, and they run to their parents at the tiniest little thing." I saw her become worried, and I tried to fix the damage I had made. "No no no no no, don't worry, you'll be a great mom. You were with me. I was just too screwed up because of House. I'm just too much like him. You were a really good mom. Oh God, now I'm rambling."

"Reese, it's okay." She was disappointed. Great. "I understand."

"Mom, I love you. A lot. And I just want you to be happy. If this kid makes you happy, then go for it. Have fun with it. If dating Asher makes you happy, then go call him right now."

"Where are you going with this?"

"You may think that I make you happy, but I don't. Hell, I don't even make me happy. I want you to have the best life, and that's one without me."

"No-"

"Yes. Look, once you and House realize you're meant for one another, your not going to want two House's running around." She gave the smallest smile and chuckle. "I promise, I won't be a stranger. I'll come back for breaks, and everything. I mean, yes, the next time you're going to see me for more than a day after I leave will be Christmas break, but I'll keep tabs with you. Promise."

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It had been two and a half weeks since Cuddy and I had that heart to heart conversation. I can't believe that Rebecca would do that to her. How dare she steal away Cuddy's dream just because of one look? I swear, if I knew her, I would have beaten her into submission, I would've. At this very moment, I was sitting next to Cuddy on the floor of the new baby's room. She was so depressed. I'm going to make her happy, I swear to God I will. She deserves to be happy. And I thought the least I could do, was to be there for moral support. So we were sitting in silence, staring at the ugly yellow wall. Apparently she liked it, so I wasn't going to say anything. Then, came the knock on the door.

She got up, and ambled towards it. "It's really not the greatest time for gloating." I heard her say, but to whom?

"There's more than one baby in the sea. World's full of teenage boys running bareback." House. Definitely.

"No. I'm done. I can't go through that again."

"You're quitting? Just like you quit IVF?" I didn't know she quit.

"Yeah, just like that."

"There you just did it again." She chuckled a little. "It's too bad. You were a great mother."

That one sentence pissed her off. "You son of a bitch. When I was getting a baby, you said I'd suck as a mother, now that I've lost it, you tell me I'd be great as a mother. Why do you need to negate everything?" Oh God, she was beginning to cry again.

"I don't know." He mumbled. And then, I heard something interesting. I heard smacking noises that could only lead to one conclusion: They kissed. By the sound of it a good kiss too. "Night." The door opened...

"Good night." ...and closed. Cuddy just stood there unbelievingly. After the door closed, I got up and came out to her with a shocked look on my face. My mouth was open and my eyes were wide. She got one look at me and said, "Shut up." Before hading to her own room.

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The next day, right after the Kid's Hour, I ambled into House's office to find him banging his ball against the wall. I stopped in front of his desk, and crossed my arms in front of my chest, and just stood there.

After a minute or so of my just standing there, he finally acknowledged my presence. "What?" He turned and I gave him the hardest stare he had ever received.

"If you hurt her, I'm going to kill you." His eyebrows knitted together and I continued to stare him down. A moment later, Wilson came walking in, and House's eyes went from me to him.

I turned around, and Wilson stared confusedly. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No." I said, and quickly walked out.

When they were alone, Wilson said, "What was that all about?"

He just shook his head, "Nothing."


	12. Chapter 12

_Two Months Later_

"Reese, please let me drive you there!" Cuddy begged at the airport.

"Mom, I'll be fine. And plus, gas prices are crazy these days, I don't want you to spend a hundred dollars in gas to drive me to Canada, pretty much." I was going to Niagara University for pre-med, then I was off to the University of Michigan for med school. Yeah, I'm going to be a doctor. How could I not be. "And plus, you need to get home to Rachel. Wilson can't watch her forever."

"I can't believe my baby is going to college." She started crying.

"Mo-Mom please don't cry."

"I'm sorry." She wiped the tears from her face and smiled at me. "You're so grown up."

"Ma." I said, obviously embarrassed.

"I'm just so proud of you."

"We both are." I looked from Cuddy's face up to House, who was standing a few feet away.

"Hi, Dad." I said nervously. The last time I saw him was the night I threatened him.

"Hi."

"Uh, how have you been? Good, I hope."

"Yeah, everything is good."

"_Now boarding, Flight 121 to the Buffalo Niagara airport is now boarding._" The announcer said over the PA.

"That's me." I said, picking up my backpack. "Bye mom." I gave her a hug, and she hugged me back. "Bye, dad." We didn't hug, we just nodded at the other. "Well," I said right before I left. "I guess I'll see you for Hanukkah then. Bye." I turned around, and started my way through the gate.

"Isn't she coming back for the summer?" House asked Cuddy as I passed through.

"No. She's taking a few courses during the summer to finish up her first year." After I had disappeared from their sight, they turned around and started heading toward the parking ramp.

"So, she's going to go through her first year and without any kind of break, going straight to her second year?"

"Well, she'll probably have a week before she starts her second year."

"That's it?"

Cuddy just shrugged. "What can I tell you, the kid likes school. Always has."

Mustering up a little courage, House said in a low voice, "Lisa." Her first name startled her.

"Yes?"

"Look, I know I screwed up with Reese, I mean, she pretty much hates me now. But that night that you told me, I went back to my car, and I felt...amazing. Being a dad, is a fantastic feeling. And," I was hard for him to say his feelings, I mean, he is House. "Rachel is going to need a dad."

Cuddy was breathless and had wide eyes. "Oh, Greg." Then she went up and hugged and kissed him.

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"Here you go." The taxi driver said hours later as he pulled up to the campus.

"Thanks." I pulled out my wallet and gave him the correct amount of money, and got out.

"Do you need any help with you bags?"

"Actually, that would be great, yeah. Thanks." I smiled at him, he smiled back, and he got out to help me with my bags.

"Well, that should be it." He said a little while later after the single room I had gotten had most of what I owned in it. "I'll be off then."

"Actually," I piped up. "Can you take me to one more place?"

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"What do you want here?" He asked as we sat in front of the La Lune restaurant a mile from campus.

"A job. Could you wait here, please?" He nodded and I got out. In the past two months, I had started talking a lot more. Jude and I had started having conversations, and Maga and I even started chewing the fat more as well. I walked in, and the place was deserted except for one older couple who were enjoying their lunch. "Um, excuse me?" I asked the man standing at the podium in front.

"Yes?" He had a snooty French accent. I didn't like it.

"Can I speak to Claude Marvel, please?"

"And who is asking?" I was about ready to pop this guy in the face.

"Tell him that Reese House is here to see him." Okay, I'm not mad at him. Anyway, the tall French guy looked me over, then went back into the kitchen.

I stood there for a moment or two before the old man in the couple waved me over to them. I came over, and he asked me, "So what are you here for?"

"I'm actually here for the...musical position." I was a little embarrassed.

"Really?" The woman couldn't believe it.

"Yes."

"How old are you?" The man asked.

"I'm fifteen."

"Where do you live?"

"Actually, I just moved in today. I'm dorming at Niagara University."

"And your fifteen?"

"Yeah," I blushed slightly. "I skipped a couple of grades."

"What are you going for?"

"I'm going to be a doctor."

"Oh, that's nice. Would you play us something?"

"Oh, Kevin." The woman playfully hit her husband's arm. "Sweetie, you don't have to."

"No, it's fine. Is there anything particular you'd like to here?" He motioned me over, and whispered a song in my ear. "Yeah, I know that one."

I sat down at the gande piano in the middle of the room, and I placed my hands over the keys. As soon as I started playing, her face lit up. "May I have this dance?" He held out his hand to her, and she took it. "Earth Angel, Earth Angel, will you be mine?" I started to sing, and she laid her head on his shoulder. "My darling dear, love you for all time." They swayed to the music as I continued. I didn't notice when the kitchen doors opened and a man of six two came out in a dark blue suit. He just stood at the door, watching and listening. When I hit the last couple notes, the couple smiled at me.

"Thank you, young lady."

"Reese House." I held out my hand, and Kevin shook it.

"House?" The woman asked.

"Yes."

"What's your father's name?"

"Greg." And she smiled.

"Greggory House. My best student." I cocked my head in question, and she explained. "I taught his anatomy class when he was going to the University of Michigan. Him and Lisa Cuddy, cutest couple I'd ever seen." I smiled.

"She's my mom."

And she smiled bigger. "You look so much like her. With his eyes, of course."

"Graham!" Kevin walked over to the man by the kitchen door. "You heard her play right?"

"Of course. And she's spectacular. Awful young though."

"Son, if you don't hire her right now, you are grounded for a year."

"Wait," Graham? "I thought your name was Claude."

He smiled sheepishly. "Claude is a stage name. That way it looks like a real Frenchman runs the restaurant." I smiled back at him. "And I would love you to play here."

"Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome. Please, there are a few papers that need to be filled out." I nodded and followed him to the podium. He took out a resume, and handed it to me along with a pen. I quickly filled it out (using Cuddy-House as my last name), and handed it back to him. He looked it over, and said incredulously, "You are available every night?"

"I don't have any classes after six. So I can come in any time after that."

"Can you come in tonight?"

"Of course, what time?"

"Seven is good, and please, black pants and a nice shirt."

I nodded. "Of course. Is there anything in particular that your past musicians have played?"

"Well, Beethoven and Mozart is what is normally played."

Again, I nodded. "I can do that."

"You played _Earth Angel_ without any sort of reference, how?"

I thought about it for a quick second. "This is going to sound weird, but if I listen to a song enough, it sort of imprints the notes in my brain, and I just never forget."

"That is very interesting."

Oh no, another awkward silence. "Um, I should probably go, the meter's running."

"Please, let me get it."

I was a little uncomfortable with it. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. You've made my parents very happy and you should be rewarded."

"Thank you." We smiled at each other, and then he walked me out to the cab.


	13. Chapter 13

_Twenty-Four years later_

It's been fourteen years since I saw mom and dad. And then a week ago, Rachel comes to my house and tells me that mom is sick. So I immediately tell Kutner (who had become the Dean of Medicine at York Hospital in York, Maine), pack up and leave for Jersey. She had been diagnosed with Chronic Leukemia five years ago. Neither Wilson nor Dad expect her to last long.

I wandered into the familiar Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital and made my way to her room. It was around eleven that night, and yet the front doors were unlocked. I opened the door to the room, and saw House passed out in his chair next to her bed. Gently, I touched his shoulder and he woke up with a start. "Hi, Dad."

He just stared with wide eyes. "Reese?" I nodded, and he hugged me tightly. I guess him and mom finally getting married after being a "couple" since college must have worked wonders on his people skills.

"How're you doing?" I brought another chair next to his.

"Not good."

Not finding anything to say in response to that, I said the first thing that popped into my mind. "Uh, wh-where's Rachel? And Timmy? I really wanted to meet him." Timothy John was the second child that House and Cuddy had conceived. Apparently, Cuddy's eggs wanted only a specific type of sperm.

"Rachel went home an hour ago, and Tim is on his way from Syracuse with the wife and child." House rubbed his eyes.

"He's got a family? At twenty-two?"

He nodded. "He turns twenty-three next month."

I just shook my head. "I can't believe I've never met him. Especially after twenty-three years."

"Well, all of you live in different states. If this hadn't happened, it is quite possible that you would have never met."

There was an awkward silence. But after a minute I said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What are you going to do, when this is all over?" We just looked at each other.

He shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know."

"Can I make a suggestion? I have this one story house, four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two of the rooms are unoccupied, and-"

"Two?"

"Yeah, Kutner lives there."

"Kutner?" I could see where his mind was but I chuckled.

"Yes, Lawrence is staying there until he can find his own place. Although, he stopped looking for one years ago." He chuckled with me. "Anyway, I want you to come back to Maine with me."

"And what will I do in Maine? Sit around the house and watch television?"

I shrugged. "Nothing says you can't still work. Remember, Kutner's the Dean of Medicine at the York Hospital. As you well know, strings can be pulled."

"And what about you? You're in diagnostics as well."

I shrugged again. "Being a doctor isn't my favorite job in the world. There's too many ungrateful people. I'm thinking of taking some time off and going to find a job playing somewhere. That is, if you accept my offer."

He just looked at me. "You'd give up your job for me?"

I nodded and smirked. "In a heartbeat Dad."

"Why?"

"Cause you're my dad. And I'd do anything for you." We smiled at each other. We sat there for a long time, talking about the last fourteen years. It had been an hour or two before we were interrupted. Cuddy had woken up. Immediately, both House and I made our way over to the side of her bed.

"Lisa? Lisa." House grabbed her hand, and squeezed gently.

She opened her eyes and looked at him with a smile on her face. "Greg." She breathed.

"Hey, Reese is here." He pointed over to me and she turned her head.

Her eyes welled up. "Oh, Reese."

"Hey mom." I ran my fingers through her hair. "How-how are you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Sick."

"I noticed." I chuckled sadly. "Why don't I give you and dad some alone time." I nodded at her, and let the two of them talk while I went out into the hallway. Taking out my cell phone, I rang up Kutner.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kutner, it's Reese."

"Hi, how's Cuddy?"

"Sick." I repeated her words. "Um, you know that topic that I discussed with you not too long ago?"

"Yeah." His voice was a little uneasy.

"I think I might have to uh, put that plan into action."

"Are you sure? It's a big step."

"What? Going from two-hundred-fifty grand a year to almost nothing? Nah, that's not that big." He chuckled. "I mean, the house is already paid off and everything. We should be fine for a while, as long as you keep working."

"I couldn't give up my job if I tried. You know that better than anyone."

I heard the door open so I looked up and saw House's grim face. "Hold on." I put the phone face down on the floor and I got up to meet his down gaze.

He did not look good. "Is that offer still on the table?" He said after a minute.

Oh God. She's gotta be gone. I picked up the phone. "Clean up both rooms would you?" I closed the phone and hugged him. "Don't you worry, I'll take care of everything."

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I knocked on her door. Seconds later, Rachel opened her door and stared at me. She was crying. "Hi Rachel."

"Reese."

"I was wondering if you could read something at mom's funeral on Wednesday."

"Yeah, sure. Is there anything I can do to help?"

I shook my head. "No, I got this. But uh, do you know where Tim is staying?"

"Yes, the Garden Motel on Cole st."

"Thank you. I'll call you if I need you then." She nodded and I left.

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"Timothy House, please?" I asked the woman at the front desk.

"Friend or family?" She asked with a cheery disposition.

"Family, I'm his sister."

"Room two-forty-three. Would you like me to ring his room for you?"

"No it's okay. He's expecting me." I'm a liar. He doesn't even know I'm in town. I went slowly upstairs and walked down the right hallway. When I finally found his door, I hesitated before knocking. After a minute of nervousness, I took a deep breath and knocked.

A minute or two later, the door opened to a tall man with raven-black hair. He had bright blue eyes and looked more like Cuddy than I did. Although that's not a fair comparison, I look more like House anyway. "Can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm Reese." I stuck out my hand and his eyes went wide.

"You? You're Reese?"

"Well don't sound so excited. I'm only human you know."

"No, it's just that they talked so..._highly_ of you." Oh, he meant he expected me to be taller.

"You know, I am more awesome than I look." He chuckled.

"I'm Tim." He shook my hand.

"I gathered." He scoffed.

"Do you wanna come in and talk?"

"Sure. We've got a lot of years to make up." He stepped aside and let me in. I took in my surroundings and saw a woman with a child about two years old sitting on a bed.

"Al?" Tim called to the woman and she looked up from the child.

"Hi," She got off from the bed and came over to me with an outstretched hand. "I'm Alana, and this is BJ."

"I'm Reese House." Her face brightened.

"You're Reese?" I nodded. "Greg and Lisa used to talk so lovingly about you. You must have been very close to them."

My face fell. "Not really. I hadn't seen them in ten years."

"Oh, well I just assumed-"

"It's okay." My life is just full of awkward silences, isn't it?

"Uh, this is your nephew, BJ." Tim interrupted us by taking the child from his wife and handing him to me.

I still hated kids. "Hi there." I looked into the kids' dark blue eyes and he looked into my bright ones.

"Reese." The boy babbled as he pointed to his shirt that was orange and had a picture of Reese's Pieces on it.

"Yup."

Then he pointed to me. "Reese."

I nodded and pointed to him. "BJ."

He pointed over to the picture of mom and dad from a few years ago that Tim must have put out. "Gamma."

I nodded again. "Gamma." I repeated.

"Gamma gone." Oh the poor child. His eyes became darker and wider.

"Gamma's gone." I nodded once again. And then it hit me. "Tim?"

"Yeah?" He took BJ from me and handed him back to Alana.

"Mom's gone. Mom is gone." After three days it had finally sunk in. After all these years, I never realized how much she ever did for me, how much she loved me. How much I loved her, how much I meant to her. How much I miss her.


	14. Epilogue

I walked to the last room on the left and knocked on the door.

"Come in." I opened the door to find James Wilson unpacking his last suitcase. "Hello Reese."

"James." It was unusual for me to call him James, but this was a special sort of day. Dad and him had just moved in. Why both of them? Well, Wilson was House's best friend, can't have one without the other.

"This is a very nice place you have here." Wilson turned to me. I was in a pair of green basketball shorts with an Animaniacs t-shirt.

"Thank you."

"You still sleep with that thing?" He chuckled and I looked down at Bert who was a little worse for wear, but still in good shape.

"Force of habit." I shrugged. "You settling in okay?"

"Yeah, almost done unpacking. How's House?"

"Don't know yet, I was going to him after you."

"Well, I shouldn't keep you-" I went over to him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you for coming with us."

He smiled. "Good night, Reese."

"Night Wilson." I left Wilson's room and went over to the last door on the right. I knocked again.

"Door's open." I came in and leaned in the doorway.

"How're you settling in?"

"Fine, considering the circumstances." Uh oh, that was a major cry for help.

"How're you holding up?" As a rule, House's don't like discussing their feelings. Stupid Cuddy genes.

"I just told you I was fine-"

I shook my head as I said, "I didn't mean about moving here."

"I'll be okay." He wouldn't look at me. He was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Liar."

"Everyone lies."

"Will you at least look at me when you're talking Dad." He propped himself up and looked at me. When he saw me, he started laughing.

"You still have that?"

I nodded. "Still sleep with it too."

"Why?" He shook his head.

"It's a force of habit. If I didn't have Bert, I couldn't sleep if my life depended on it."

"That is sad." He let out a laugh again.

"Yeah well, what're you gonna do." There was another silence between us. "Uh, night Dad."

"Night Reese." I got up from the doorway, and my right leg shot with pain. It had been doing that a lot lately. Immediately he shot up, "You okay?"

"Yeah," I gripped my thigh. "It's just my leg." He got out of bed and came over to me.

"Has it hurt before?" He hiked my shorts up to take a look at it.

"It's been on and off for two or three days." It hurt a lot more right now than it ever did. And normally it went away after a minute or two, but it wasn't going away this time.

"Shit." House mumbled before he shouted down the hall. "Kutner! Wilson!" They came out their rooms with confused faces, but when they saw what was going on they hurried down the hall. "We need to get her to the hospital now."

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Kutner carried me in, and started yelling at nurses to get a gurney, different fluids, and a room stat. I was clutching to him as if I would die if I let go. He laid me down gently on the gurney.

"It's gonna be okay Reese. You're gonna be okay." Kutner grabbed my hand, and looked at me with scared eyes. Why was he scared?

House knew why. He saw it. Wilson probably saw it. But I was still oblivious. "Make the pain go away."

"I will, I promise." They took me upstairs to scan my leg for any clots and whatnot. They found the clot, and thank God muscle didn't become necrotic. About an hour after the scan, Kutner came back to my room with a slight smile. "It was just a clot. We'll issue you some Heparin and you'll be fine."

I laid back against the bed and smiled. "For a second, I thought I was going to be like dad."

"Is that a bad thing?"

I shook my head. "No, not at all. But I don't want to be in pain for the rest of my life. I wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Hey," Kutner wanted to get off the subject. "I brought you a present." He brought Bert from behind his back and I smiled.

"Thank you." He handed the stuffed moose to me, and I hugged it.

"We're gonna keep you here for a night, just in case."

"Are Wilson and dad okay? I know Dad was really concerned about what might have happened."

Kutner felt a little hurt. My feelings don't count? "Yeah, um, they're in the cafeteria. I just wanted to bring you Bert before we shipped off."

"Thank you again." I wanted to say something special to him but he turned away.

"Oh, um," he turned back around. "Don't scare me like that again."

"I won't Lawrence." He nodded and went to the cafeteria. When he turned around I smiled and hugged Bert tighter to me. He cares about me. Probably not the same way I care about him though. And so I was back to being slightly depressed.

A minute later Kutner came back in, walked right up to me and pulled my lips to his. I dropped Bert and pulled him closer. A minute later, much to my dismay, he pulled away. "Sorry."

I shook my head. "Don't be."

"Uh," we were still extremely close to one another. "Good night Reese."

"Good night Lawrence."

He gave me one final peck on the lips before he went out of the room.


End file.
